JAMILAH-DAISY TRANSFORMED by VILLAGER

JAMILAH-DAISY TRANSFORMED, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 22×18 inches

Rewriting canons and honoring our ancestors in the present- This work follows my new investigation of capturing the essence of one’s spirit and intrinsic energy using cowries as a portal of gaze and object of corporeality called “ÀṢẸ AESTHETICS”. This energy which is their “ÀṢẸ ” is a spatially polychronic Yoruba concept of command, energy, power (given or received), authority, creativity, and divine life force in all living and non-living things. The work seeks to transcend the multiplicities of time and spatiality by engaging in a different conception of the reality of seeing and being in the world. How will this shift in understanding evolve our quest for meaning and purpose? How do we invoke, exercise, and activate ÀṢẸ toward an understanding of the interconnectivity of the human experience? How can futures be reimagined, reconstructed, and re envisioned with ÀṢẸ. What would the world look like when we begin to see ourselves as higher beings who have the power (ÀṢẸ ) to manifest (pà àse) and evocatively challenge and redefine our existential conditions? This work honors the vibrant and radiant energy of my friend Jamilah. She is a photographer and activist in Baltimore, MD

VILLAGER (b.1999 in Lagos, Nigeria; based in Baltimore, MD), is a multi-disciplinary artist, whose work is centered around investigating humanity as a product of culture and social conditions through and Afro-diasporic lens. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, and only immigrating to the United States in 2013. My work incorporates visual and material elements from my personal experiences in both cultural landscapes of Nigeria and the US. Villager endeavors to scrutinize, deconstruct, and redefine the existential and paradoxical question of what it means to be a “contemporary african.” I am formally trained as a Water Microbiologist and Environmental Researcher, receiving a B.S. in Environmental Science with a concentration in Chemistry and a minor in Chemistry from Towson University in 2020. My practice began in January 2022 during my second semester of graduate studies at UMBC studying Marine Estuary Environmental Science. During this time, I was lost in myself, mentally fatigued, and extremely drained- It felt like I am living in the shell of my former self. I understood that I needed an outlet to communicate my evolving understanding of my humanity so on January 19th of that year, I sat down for 6 hours and painted my first ever painting titled “caged vessel”, encouraging myself to engage in self-exploration and self-expression along the way. 8 months later, I chose to step away from my Master’s program at UMBC to seek greater purpose through and for my work, establish a long-lasting studio practice, and develop a universal dialogue through my work.